Author: Christine Wyrtzen

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Genesis 48:21

When good fathers are alive, their children dwell securely under their shade. God’s favor is on the father, and by extension, the sons and daughters who share his faith. The children might not think about the day when their father no longer lives. If they do, they wonder if God’s favor will shadow them in the same way.

How reassuring were Jacob’s words to Joseph. “I am about to die but God will be with you.” Didn’t Joseph already know that? God had brought him safely through slavery, captivity, and enthronement. But ascending a throne in Egypt is not the same as stepping into the role of a patriarch within ‘the’ covenant family. It was easier for him to follow in Jacob’s footsteps while he was alive than to step into his shoes after death. This very thing, every son of a larger-than-life father, feels.

In taking Joseph to Egypt, God gave him distance between his iconic father and himself. He became his own person, a unique son of Yahweh. The sons of famous fathers must do the same today. Leave home. In their father’s shadow, it is difficult to know themselves and to also give themselves permission to be different from what others expect. How unfair to hear, “He not like his father.” Or, “He’s going to be just like his father!”  Either way, it’s a pile of expectations. The public sees perfection. The family sees the humanity. We are god-makers by our fallen natures and cast this heavy burden upon their children.

Like you perhaps, I’m aware that the story would be different if Reuben, or Judah, or Simeon had become the vice-chancellor of Egypt. Great fathers don’t always raise great sons. Joseph was great because God had his hand on him and cast him into refining fires early in life. The others stayed in their father’s shade, resented his faith, and acted out a kind of teenage rebellion throughout their adult lives.

I’m married to the son of an iconic father ~ a larger-than-life evangelist. No matter where we go, Ron is Jack Wyrtzen’s son. Expectations have always been high. At 32, God called Ron away from his father’s organization to become the unique leader he is today. He was cast into great refining fires for two decades. Today, he is a great man much like his father but different from his father. He has been a ‘Jesus’ in the business world instead of in ministry. Carving out God’s path for himself would not have happened without time and distance but this has proven true ~ As God was with Jack Wyrtzen, God has been, and is, with Ron Wyrtzen. I see God’s favor on him every single day as he brings the kingdom to our world with wisdom, holy restraint, and grace.

You made me. Only You should shape Your own creation. Strengthen the holy legacies with our fathers and break the back of idolatry. Amen

When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Mannasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” Genesis 48:17-19

God is unpredictable. We say we want Him to have His way with our lives but do we really? What in the world would happen if we completely relinquished the reins?  By trying to control things, we forfeit God’s blessing.

Mannaseh was Joseph’s firstborn, the heir to the firstborn’s blessing. But Jacob perceived that God wanted something different when he went to pronounce a final blessing on the two brothers. God intended to bless the younger over the older. History would reveal that Jacob heard God correctly. After the exodus, Ephraim became the leading tribe in the Northern Kingdom, much superior to the tribe of Mannasseh. Oh, but how Jacob’s spiritual hunch offended Joseph!

God does not exalt whom we think he should. He is full of surprises as he chooses the overlooked, the weak, the average, the unsuspecting. Talent does not impress him. Stature in the eyes of men and family don’t weigh into the decision either. God looks at the heart and if that heart has an inclination toward humility and utter dependence on God, that qualifies him for spiritual greatness. Why should Joseph have been surprised? He, himself, was in fact, far removed in birth order from the firstborn.

I’m reminded again this morning that I dare not live prayerless. I cannot guess what God wants. I am to bless whom He blesses and withhold when He withholds. Who am I affirming today that may be far from God’s blessing? Perhaps I’m impressed by their talents and charisma. And whom would God have me encourage? That person might be unnoticed, living outside of the spotlight. It just might be the ‘David’ who tends sheep; the one the family has all but waved off as an afterthought.

Align me to Your purposes. I forfeit my logic and declare that it is flawed. Amen

And he [Jacob] blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Genesis 48:15-16

When I look back in time, I can see how God provided and blessed. In the present however, I fear that He won’t continue to be gracious. Words of faith are choked out in environments of deprivation. That’s unfortunate because remembrance is meant to feed my faith. God did show up when things were dire. When I tried to quit the fight for faith, God brought new manna to breathe hope into the crevices of my soul.

Jacob embraced his two newly adopted grandsons. Half-Egyptian grandsons. He remembered God’s promised covenant to his family. He remembered that God was faithful to preserve their lives when it looked like their line would be extinct. He praised God for the past, but his language quickly changed to thank God for what He would do to bless his descendants. Faith is future.

Some years ago, I was lamenting to an older woman that I greatly respect that I feared God was not going to answer my prayers.  I had plenty of evidence to prove it. She listened to it all. Her reply was this, “Live joyfully confident!” When I questioned her further, she replied again, “Live joyfully confident!” I understood that she wasn’t going to spoon-feed me the meaning.

The phrase describes what faith is. When all things point to failure – I live joyfully confident that God can create options where I see none. When people I love are disinterested in the God I cherish – I live joyfully confident that God is a wooing God and will not forget to offer them every opportunity to become His child.   

What ‘joyfully confident’ statements of faith might you need to make today about some area of your life that invites despair?  You may smell death but know that God is a Resurrector. Affirm this out loud and then ask for the grace to live in joyful anticipation. 

I’m learning to dance before the party. Amen

After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. Genesis 48:1-2 

Jacob was very ill, near death, but the arrival of Joseph and his sons gave him an uncanny strength to finish what was unfinished. He needed to give Joseph the birthright of the family and adopt Joseph’s two sons as his grandchildren. The future inheritance of Israel depended on this moment and Jacob knew it.

Perhaps you’ve known someone who was near death with a prediction that they wouldn’t last much longer. Then, they hung on against all odds and refused to die. Something was unfinished. There was someone they needed to see; something they needed to say. When that person arrived, they might have gained their full faculties. Like Jacob, they rose to have a needed conversation.

After moving to Georgia, I made a connection with an older saint named Iris. She became a prayer partner and spiritual mother to me. Our bond was as deep as family and because the foundation was spiritual, our connection was like iron. Iris was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. It took her life in a matter of weeks. I was out of town when she lay on her deathbed in a local hospital.

I kept calling home to get an update on her but got the news that she was holding on beyond what anyone thought possible. When I got back into town, I went straight to the hospital to see her. I can’t say for certain that she was waiting to say goodbye to me but within an hour after visiting her, she died. I got to talk with her, sing to her, and express my thanks for all she had meant to me.

We will each say goodbye to someone we love. It’s inevitable. We should tuck away the truth of this reality ~ that a person will often hang on at the end because something needs closure. Sadly, they are oftentimes in a coma and can’t express what they want to say. Families need to be prayerful and intuitive to realize what is happening. Otherwise, there will be needless suffering for everyone.

Is there unfinished business in your family, things that need to be expressed that haven’t yet been said. Maybe there are relationships that need to be reconciled.  We often waste the joy that could be ours if we made things right much earlier in life. The bedside of a dying loved one is not the ideal place for long overdue family communication but if it’s the only option, it’s a crucial one. Loved ones should die in peace and leave those they love with quieted hearts.

 Lord, give spiritual intuition to any who need to know how to wrap up unfinished business with family. Amen

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So, the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” Genesis 47:28-30

Jacob’s wish to be buried in Canaan surprises me on the one hand.  He appeared to be living the best part of his life. His whole family had been reunited. Joseph was alive and blessed. His sons were older, wiser, and had repented of earlier sins. They had plenty of food. Their lineage was blessed and would continue to multiply.  So why not ask to be buried in the land where God had redeemed your story?

If I love God, it is interesting what I come to value most. My heart travels back, as Jacob’s did, to the places where God spoke in the most personal ways one can experience Him. Jacob wanted to be buried near ‘Bethels’, where monuments marked the spots of God’s revelation. Time in Egypt, in a period of plenty, did not alter what he cherished. I also remember, with great passion, the places where the voice of God intersected my life and changed me.

If I value the wrong things, I will be a bitter woman when I lay down to die. I will realize that I invested in things I’ll be forced to leave behind. And, if I know my Bible, I’ll also realize that these so-called treasures will eventually burn.

When it comes down to it, I want my family near me. They are eternal. I want to bless them and give them last words they will remember.  I want to hold their hands one last time as I know that we will be temporarily separated. I want my favorite music.  I also want one more thing nearby ~ The Bible that went with me through the darkest period of my life. I had to put a new binding on it recently when it fell apart because I could not part with it. Buying a brand new one didn’t appeal at all!  This old Bible is a journal of my fears and God’s faithfulness.

In the event of his death, Jacob decided to leave the land of plenty to be buried in a strange and barren place to the naked eye. Though it was nothing to look at, for him, it was rich with memories.

Thank you for taking me through hard times that re-aligned my priorities. Amen

Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Genesis 47:7-10

Writers in Jewish history say that when Jacob came to Egypt, the land was immediately blessed and began to heal from famine. They also say that when Pharaoh saw that Jacob was old, he feared that Jacob might not live much longer and that the blessing would cease. 

Someone who has spent a lifetime in the presence of God brings God’s presence with them anywhere they go. To those who are discerning, the impact is immediately felt. Instantly, everything feels better, like whatever is wrong will be righted.  I can name a half dozen people that make me feel that way. But every child of the kingdom is to be sanctified to the point of having this spiritual effect.  Jesus teaches His disciples to pray ‘Thy kingdom come.’ But He also, by the indwelling of His Spirit, brings His kingdom to any place the disciples are.

Just as Jacob did, God may ask you to bless your superior.  He may ask a secretary today to speak words of blessing over her boss, or a nurse her attending physician.  Parishioners will be moved to bless their pastor and it will seem upside down.  In the story of Joseph, Pharoah should have been the one to bless a nomad like Jacob, but when prompted by the Spirit of God, kingdom order prevailed.  Pharoah was the one blessed.  In that brief encounter, God’s presence was felt by an Egyptian pharaoh.

I don’t know all the places I will visit today, nor do I know all the people I will encounter. But I’m praying for an impact because I know that I am a container for the Spirit of God.

In this stressed-out world, purify me and prepare me to bless.  Like you, Jesus, I will be no respecter of persons.  Amen

They came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him. Genesis 46:6

Jacob and his entire family are walking in the desert toward Egypt. There are several hundred of them. Jacob is out in front. He is old, slowly plodding along with the help of a cane and a son on each side. His face is determined but the weariness of such a long journey is evident in his gait.

Meanwhile, Joseph is leaving the gates of Egypt in a royal entourage. In the chariot with him are his two sons, both under the age of ten. They come to the crest of a hill that overlooks the desert floor below. The dust settles and as it does, the scene of several hundred nomads in the distance fill his view. Joseph knows who they are. Though a mile away, Joseph cannot wait. He drives his chariot at breakneck speed downward into the valley.

As he nears his father, his horses are recklessly pulled to a stop. Joseph jumps out, sees his father a few dozen feet away, and is overcome. He loses all strength and crumbles to his knees. Jacob rushes to him and draws his head into the folds of his tunic. “My son. Praise be to God. My son!”  Jacob finally looks up to see two young boys in Joseph’s chariot. “These are your sons, my grandchildren? “Come!” Jacob says. “Come, so I may bless you.” He speaks prophetic words over each boy and kisses the tops of their heads. Everyone understands that God brought them to Egypt to save their lives. There will be a season of joy ahead.

I can never think about this reunion without being moved. And I can never picture it without thinking of the reunion that is coming between Jesus and me. It will far surpass this one.

I’ve only caught a nuance of how you feel about me. I get a sense of it each time we talk in prayer, but I’ll see the full effect at our reunion. The pleasure of my company that you describe in Scripture humbles me, Lord. Amen

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. Genesis 46:2-3

God fathers each child differently. His path is a solitary one and my journey will never be identical to that of my family. If my parents were iconic in their faith, the expectations for me to follow in their footsteps will be strong but also impossible to attain. I am not either of my parents nor should I try to be.

Isaac, Jacob’s father, was told by God to avoid Egypt during his time of famine. Egypt was off limits. But God’s plan for Jacob was different. In his time of famine, Egypt was the place he was brought to settle. Doing something different from his father had to feel confusing. 

God stretched me out of my family’s mold sometime in my mid-forties. My views of some peripheral biblical issues differed from that of my father and the legalistic church I was raised in. There were some tense discussions, and his disapproval created a shadow over our relationship. Before he died, God moved us on to the same page through some ‘end of life’ experiences.  What a gift that was.

To complicate matters, I married young into a well-known Christian family.  My father-in-law was a famous evangelist. Things were harmonious throughout the early years of our marriage because both Ron and I held to his father’s views on most every biblical issue. Eventually though, God began to take us on the journey He had planned for us. It meant leaving home and the ministry his father started. Though we still agreed on the tenets of the Gospel, our interpretations of some secondary issues of grace didn’t match. At times, we felt like outsiders, but God used isolation to bind us to Him.  We learned to hear and obey His voice above all others. 

God’s message to each of us today is clear. We are His children first and then members of our earthly family. Egypt may be denied to our fathers but permissible for us. God is a kind Father who leads deliberately, often giving His child the courage to take steps away from the ‘family’s way of doing things’. The fallout can make any of us second-guess our new direction, but God gives grace along with the call to go where He sends us. His voice is wild and wonderful; his ways are peculiar and solitary. Any price we pay is long compensated by the joy of hearing God say, “Well done!”

My heart begs to be shaped by You, and by no one else. Amen

The spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:27b-28

It’s surprising how, with Christ, my heart can be content. Jacob was so elated with the news that Joseph was alive that he was willing lay all other hurts aside and focus on the joy of seeing his son again. The joy of being reunited with Joseph eclipsed the pain of all else that had taken place before.

Over the course of my life, I have celebrated God’s goodness and celebrating was always easy.  I have also grieved losses and grieving was never easy.  It was messy and involved learning to adapt to a life without the person for whom I was grieving.  I had to be willing to go with God into a future that was vastly different than what I had known.  Only the Holy Spirit could help me to embrace it and to learn to be content. 

Ron and I were so impressed recently by our neighbor.  She had to leave her home of forty-three years to enter an assisted living facility. She grieved over all the familiar things she would have to leave behind. There was a period of sadness.  With time, God helped her focus on the handpicked things she was able to take with her to her new home. They were the things she cherished the most.  God gave her the grace to settle in new surroundings and find contentment.

It is human nature to look at what we have lost rather than what we have left. We want what we once had so much that we overlook the treasures still in our hands. God will help us re-align and re-adjust. Grieving the losses gives us an opportunity to lift our eyes to what is eternal. We find comfort, and then we find joy, as we embrace the promises of God for the future. Only God’s perspective can lead us from the throes of self-pity and bitter tears.

When we think our hands are empty, God shows us that they are, indeed, still full.  They are full of blessings we couldn’t see before now. Sometimes, it takes a lifetime to understand that the child of God is never without riches ~ even in the worst of times.

Change is certain. Security is also certain with You as my Father. Show me what is in my hands. Amen

So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. Genesis 45:25-28

When Joseph disappeared from Jacob’s life, something broke inside this father’s heart. Hope died. His spirit withered. It would be this way for another 20+ years until he got the news that Joseph was not dead as he believed, but very much alive in Egypt. He had grieved his son’s death and disillusionment had been his companion. His heart had grown numb to good news. But finding out that Joseph was alive, Jacob’s heart revived.

Can God do a new thing in my later years? Yes. Even when something catastrophic happened in my teens and I learned to adapt by closing off my heart, God can introduce healing many decades later. 

A dreamer, in response to a series of disappointments, shoves his dreams underground. Can God resurrect them later in life? Yes. Though decades seem like an eternity and dreamers are tempted to believe that life is always going to disappoint, they discover that God can write a new plotline.

What is it you’re waiting for today?  For what have you stopped hoping? Perhaps you believe that it’s futile to trust God for anything different, that God’s promises are for those still enjoying the dreams of their youth. Oh, but not everything is as it appears. Jacob held what he thought was bloody coat of his son Joseph, but the evidence of his death was a sham. Joseph was very much alive.

This could be the day of your breakthrough. Tell your heart to stand at attention to see the miraculous hand of God write the next chapter of your life.

 I lived to see my own resurrection. All because of You. Amen